James II of Cyprus

James II of Cyprus (1439-10 July 1473) was King of Cyprus from 1463 to 10 July 1473, succeeding Charlotte of Cyprus and preceding James III of Cyprus.

Biography
James was born in 1439, the illegitimate son of King John II of Cyprus. In 1456, he was granted the Archbishopric of Nicosia by his father, but he was deprived of this title after murdering the royal chamberlain on 1 April 1457, and he went into exile on Rhodes with Catalan adventurer Juan Tafures. He was allowed to return soon after, and he aimed to seize power on Cyprus from his half-sister Charlotte of Cyprus after his father's death. In 1460, the Bahri Sultanate invaded Egypt to assist James, and James forced Charlotte to flee the island in 1463 before he was crowned king. He married Catherine Cornaro of the Republic of Venice by proxy, marrying her in November 1472. However, he was poisoned by her uncles soon after, and their son James III of Cyprus also met a mysterious end in 1474.